Transformable? A multi-dimensional exploration of transformational leadership and follower implicit person theories

Research on transformational leadership seems to suggest that followers are uniformly "transformable". Drawing on the interactionist theory of person and environment, this study questions that assumption by focusing on the impact of follower implicit person theories on the relationship bet...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of work and organizational psychology 2021-01, Vol.30 (1), p.95-109
Main Authors: Seitz, Stephanie R., Owens, Bradley P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Employees
engagement
implicit person theory
Leadership
Organization theory
Transformational leadership
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Research on transformational leadership seems to suggest that followers are uniformly "transformable". Drawing on the interactionist theory of person and environment, this study questions that assumption by focusing on the impact of follower implicit person theories on the relationship between transformational leadership, follower engagement, and follower performance. Results from a study of 216 employees and 99 leaders in the healthcare industry show that, although transformational leadership has direct relationships with engagement and performance, followers' implicit person theories have a moderating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee performance. In addition, using a four-factor model of transformational leadership, results show that the behavioural dimensions of inspirational motivation and idealized influence are only effective for incremental theorist followers.
ISSN:1359-432X
1464-0643
DOI:10.1080/1359432X.2020.1830761